Kōrero: Referendums

Businessman Lloyd Morrison shows one of his alternative designs for the New Zealand flag in 2010. Morrison, who died in 2012, spent years trying unsuccessfully to gain enough signatures for a citizens-initiated referendum (CIR) on changing the New Zealand flag. The signatures of at least 10% of registered voters are required to launch a CIR. In 2015 and 2016 New Zealand finally held a two-stage consultative referendum on the future of the New Zealand flag

Other unsuccessful attempts to initiate CIRs have been launched over a range of topics, including prohibiting the battery farming of hens and adopting 'direct democracy by binding referendum'.